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There was a mod for FA that made maps all-metal. The mod consisted of maybe 5 lines of code. So rest assured you'll get such a mod if you want it.

I've no doubt that it can be modded in, and it's likely the metal worlds they've already mentioned will act identically to the TA metal worlds. It's worth pointing out that although it was simple to emulate metal worlds in FA, it broke the AI as it expected there to be specific mass points.

Good point, we use 'metal' maps for office gameplay. I use the old TA metal mod to make all maps metal for playing against people only not AIs. All of our play drifted to metal maps just so you could build anywhere.

For an alpha it's looking really quite impressive, no wonder they want people alpha testing so soon, very good progress!

I assume this was in a way reply to my post...

And how do you go about doing this exactly? Without patching the replay viewer into a replay-relevant version (which is a method they scoffed at), how is the replay viewer going to play the game out?

So what you really meant to say is that you don't know either or based on what you know, new patch will break old replays.

Funny because that's the very same question I asked to which I think you replied, and that reply was that it'll somehow work

Mavor confirmed that it isn't a re-simulated version of a game based on the PA version, it is more a 'recording' of what occurred in the game.

Correct. Logic does not run when replaying. It's a recording.

A lot of people aren't understanding that we have created a fundamentally new engine architecture setup here. You can't compare this to anything else I'm aware of.

There are still a few things that will result in the need for supporting different replay-version, arent there? I.e. if you decided to modify unitmodel/animations you will have to keep both versions and replays will need to be able to tell which version to use, since different animations can also mean different gameplay. Unless the replay contain even those files, which sounds weird from a space-perspective. Space may be cheap, but it is not free after all.

From Neutrino's perspective, it is free.

Space and Bandwidth are essentially "Free" for me too. Many people are taking advantage of unlimited package deals for broadband these days.

I'm on Fibre optic myself with 60mbs Down and about 5mbs or so Up.

File Size is not an issue for those like myself. I'm one of the lucky ones. The poor aussies are the ones I feel for... but such is the cost of progress like this.

Entire games stored as complete recordings, able to be paused, rewound and even interrupted mid-flow for someone to jump into the driving seat and write a whole new ending, which is then saved as it's OWN fully featured "Random Access" recording.

It boggles the mind. You've stunned me with the summary Neutrino. If you get it working as envisioned... I'll be blown away by just what a step up this is.

It's like the difference between non-rewritable Magnetic Tape and Solid State hard drives.
...Just amazing...

So what happens when you resume to take control over the replay? Will it run as latest data has applied to it?

Also what Cola_Colin asked... I assume replay files are not complete standalone recording (basically a copy of the entire game with all the relevant data/animation/model whatnot) of the game because that sounds incredibly wasteful... so does this mean certain things will never be patched or always be kept in main game or is there something crazy that escapes few of our imagination?

You'd assume wrong as Neutrino has already answered this point.

How can you waste something that's free?

There is no information on what kind of data is part of the replayfiles yet, afaik.
You are awfully good at making assumptions about this and state them like they are facts.
Also disc-space is not free. HDD/SDD do cost money. It's cents per GB, but it is not free

I'd assume that things like 3D-Models/Textures/Animationdata, etc. should not be part of the replay either way. A better solution would be to reference them from the replay and keep all resources as part of the game, only ever add stuff. Putting all game-data into the replay IS overkill.

Disc space is free if you stop hoarding old files

You leave Savannah out of this!



P.S. Best to not ask if you don't know, and don't comment if you do.

If you change the unit model or animation then you get the new one. If the old one isn't around you may get a unit that looks wrong but that won't effect the game itself, just the visual.

Animations aren't part of the replay at all btw, they aren't needed.

What I don't get is why you guys think you need to bother storing the replays at all. Let us do it for you then it actually is free.

Are you going to be providing a full searchable interface with say ratings, top replays of the week, youtube casts of replays etc?

Why would Uber store Youtube casts? Surely you'd want to go to Youtube for that, wouldn't you?

Other than that, yes. Uber will have a searchable database with a front page.

You act as though Uber is blind to what other services like Battlenet and League of Legends/DotA are already providing. I'm pretty sure everyone working at Uber isn't blind to current affairs within the E-Sports community.

Humans are hunters and gatherers at their core after all.
A file on some server thousands of kilometres away just doesn't feel as good as a file right here on my own HDD.

At least the last time I played SC2 (okay that was before HOTS) they did NOT have a replay-archive online at all. The game stores all replays per default, but on your own disc.

EDIT:
You may call basic human nature "archaic", but your own behaviour is controlled by it more than you might like

How archaic.